Harry Potter: A Stranger in Unfamiliar Lands
by TheNonDePlume
Summary: Always, paperwork is a pain to complete and easily forgotten in the aftermath of disaster. Sometimes, that innocent abandoned paperwork becomes awfully important. Occasionally, people aren't as alone as they believe. Never, did the Hokage predict the consequences of punishing two elite Anbu...
1. In Which Harry Is Kidnapped By Monsters

**A.N: This is the completely revamped chapter one/prologue. I'm kind of undecided on how to introduce the whole magic idea, and how to work that into the story. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to have their input. I'm also considering whether or not to have Harry become a shinobi eventually. If you guys have well reasoned arguments one way or the other I would love to read them and hopefully something will spark my inspiration. I enjoy constructive criticism. As always thanks for reading :D**

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**Also, if someone is interested in Beta-ing this story, I would love it if you sent me a pm:D**

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**Summery: Paperwork is a pain to complete and is easily forgotten in the aftermath of destruction. Sometimes that innocent paperwork becomes awfully important, and sometimes people aren't as alone as they believe.**

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Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, except in my dreams, own Naruto, or Harry Potter.

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**Prologue **

**(1 year post-Uchiha Massacre):**

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**Branch House, Uchiha Compound:**

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Amidst the stagnant wreckage of the once proud Uchiha clan, Yamato once again cursed Kakashi-taichō. _His chronic tardiness is hardly my fault, and yet, here I am, cleaning the Uchiha compound houses of rancid food and decaying chairs. _Yamato shot a dirty look at the corner of the house study where Kakashi-taichō reclined on the only useable chair, giggling with his mask shoved into a distinctive orange book.

He had finished two other houses so far, cleaning it top to bottom on Hokage-Sama's orders, and he was almost finished this one as well. Unlike the last two however, this house had belonged to a more influential branch of the family; leading to over triple the amount of clan documents to go through and organize.

As such he was plopped on the floor in the middle of many tall piles of scrolls as he went through them individually, and piled them into various groups to be sealed together later.

_Clan jutsus, taxes, various correspondences, family records… and to think, I could be getting Dango with Monkey-chan now. _

Another glare was pointedly shot into the corner before turning back to the paperwork. It's target not even having the good grace to notice.

_Taxes, taxes, taxes, taxes, oh and…what?_

_What. The. Fuck?_

Yamato's subsequent flurry of motion surprised Kakashi so much that he fell out of his chair as Yamato leaped for the window

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The Hokage stared at the paper before him in stunned disbelief. _Impossible…but, even the slightest possibility..._

Looking up he barked out orders to the two shinobi standing erect before him.

"I want you two to comb the entire Uchiha complex for any other information regarding _this." _He shook the document once for emphasis. "Everything pertaining to the matter is now an S-rank secret."

Both shinobi bowed, "hai, Hokage-Sama." Before they turned to leave Sarutobi added one final order.

"Have Sasuke Uchiha removed into Anbu custody until this is fully investigated. He is to know _nothing _of this. Tell Anbu there is a security threat, whatever, I don't care, just keep him out."

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The seemingly remedial punishment of two Anbu with cleaning up the unoccupied Uchiha clan houses affected the future events of all the Elemental Nations, and even beyond that. It affected the entire world.

Mostly though, it affected two young boys who had no idea what to do with family.

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**Chapter One **

**(3 years post-Uchiha massacre)**

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**Main House, Uchiha Compound:**

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He awoke with a gasp, his blankets soaked in sweat. Beads of sweat dripped into his eyes and down his nose, which he then roughly wiped away with his sleeve…And he was not going to remember the look of pain on his mother's face as _His _tantō entered her stomach again, and again, and _again, and AGAIN._

Sasuke Uchiha was not crying from a stupid nightmare. He was _not. _He was a strong shinobi with no fear, who would one day avenge his clan. Disregarding the lack of sunlight present at the early hour, he mechanically went through his early morning rituals. Systematically, with the ability born of long practice, he ignored everyplace and everything in the house that would remind him of unwanted memories.

_The past is worthless, all that's left is the future, and with it, the revenge and revival of the clan. _

For hours he practiced in the clan training ground attached to the house, pushing his body to its limits in an effort to not think. Only perfection was acceptable; a kunai hitting anywhere but a bull's-eye was a disgrace to his family.

Perhaps if he worked hard enough he would be too tired to dream tonight.

It was only as the first touch of orange reached the training ground that Sasuke finally ended his work out, leaving himself only enough time to down a glass of milk before he ran to the academy. He hated wasting time, every moment could be useful, and leaving extra time only left extra time to think. Which Sasuke didn't need. He knew his goals, and he knew what was necessary to achieve them.

Nothing else mattered.

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**Hokage Tower:**

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Sarutobi sat silently for hours, listening intently to the report of a mission that had lasted over two years. When he had first sent his most elite Anbu tracking team off to navigate the unknown, he'd had no idea what it meant for him or his people. Due to the nature of the mission, it had been made an S-rank secret.

The mission had created an interesting problem. What had first been an effort to ensure that the Uchiha genes didn't stray from Konohagakure turned into an espionage mission deep into the little known Outer Lands.

Long after his faithful shinobi left to de-prep from the mission, Sarutobi stared out at Konoha through his window. Pondering the possibilities and the consequences of every potential action. Feeling the weight of his years press fully upon his shoulders.

_Oh Minato, _he sighed, _you would've handled this far better than I. If only you where here. _He sighed again. It seems he just couldn't help himself.

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**Iruka's Academy Classroom:**

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Iruka-Sensei's academy class 3 was filled with clan heirs. It was one of the reasons that Iruka had been specifically asked to teach it, and the reason that he was given Mizuki as a teaching aide. Iruka's place as teacher of such a class was considered a great honor. However, when it came down to teaching the class, Iruka more often than not felt it was a punishment.

Certainly he tried his hardest, but what was he supposed to _do _with the Uchiha heir? Uchiha-kun was the most problematic top of the class student he'd ever had. The fan girling alone that followed the boy around everywhere was enough to make Iruka want to tear his hair out in frustration—at least he didn't have the Uzumaki brat in his class this year, though if the kid failed again, he would next year, _unfortunately_. Two years from now he would be completely bald.

Oh, certainly, Uchiha-kun _seemed _like the perfect student, quiet, intelligent, very dedicated, but Iruka worried about him, often, because he was also arrogant, introverted, and obsessive. With no family around—and especially after what _happened _to his family—it was very hard to judge his mental state. The last Uchiha scorned all attempted interactions by his classmates, and stared blankly at the board all day in such a way that Iruka could never tell if he was paying attention. No one he discussed his concerns with seemed to believe that anything was the matter.

After all, shinobi were supposed to be emotionless. So who cared if Uchiha Sasuke was emotionally damaged?

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**Anbu Headquarters:**

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Little Harry Potter was quite certain that he was about to be eaten.

He really, really didn't want to be eaten. As he huddled beneath a green blanket, he contemplated his birthday rule. While other children had fun on their birthdays, Harry Potter's birthday was always the worst day of the entire year. Having just turned five years old, all he wanted was to be safe back in his cupboard, but the scary monsters had taken him away. Typical.

Three monsters, tall shadows with blank faces (maybe they were going to steal his face?), had come for him in his cupboard. They spoke gibberish and the tallest one grabbed him before he could scream. It ran with him tossed over it's shoulder for what seemed like forever. And now the monsters had left him in this dark room (to give the monsters their due, the bed was far comfier here than in his cupboard) while they went out to prepare before they chopped him up and put him inside their giant cauldron. Since that's what monsters did.

So little Harry was going to be eaten, and he didn't know how he felt about that. He traced the cracks on the wall with his eyes, and he wondered if monsters ate everything, such as his bones and glasses, or if the disgusting bits of him, like his stomach and eyeballs, would get thrown out like the bones of the Christmas roast.

He figured that Aunt Tuna had found the empty cupboard by now, since she had probably come to wake him up to make breakfast. Harry was almost happy that getting eaten meant he wouldn't have to face Aunt Tuna after not being around to make Dudley's breakfast.

He shuddered. If he managed to live, he was definitely not going back there.

The door clicked open softly, Harry jumped to stare at the monster coming towards him. It held a tray of strange food in its hands (Paws? Claws? Do monsters even have hands?). Maybe the monsters were going to fatten him up before eating him, just like that witch in Hansel and Gretel.

His tummy grumbled as he carefully watched the monster place the tray of food on the only table in the room. It had two chairs and the monster seemed to be gesturing for Harry to come join it at the table. Hesitantly Harry crawled to the edge of the bed, carefully watching the monster the whole time. When Harry finally got to the table, he startled when the monster grabbed him under the arms and set him in the chair. The sudden movement caused his glasses to slip down the bridge of his nose. Before Harry had the chance to get his bearings back, the monster was sliding the tray across the table and pressing two sticks into his hand. Harry thought they were called 'choppie sticks' or something. He hesitated staring at his hand in confusion. The monster moved to stand behind him and grabbed his hand. The monster then proceeded to arrange Harry's fingers into a _very _awkward position.

The whole experience was unreal as the monster continued to guide his eating. It was _so weird._ Harry had never had anyone help him so much before. It felt kind of… nice. The food on the other hand, was very strange as well, but Harry wasn't sure he liked it very much. It was very colorful though, which he didn't think was normal for food.

When the meal was finally finished, the monster cleared away the dishes to the opposite side of the table and sat across from Harry. After a couple seconds the monster pointed at its chest and said "Inu," slowly and clearly

Harry frowned in confusion, "what?"

The monster pointed again, "Inu." It paused then and waited, the silence seemed expectant, and then it pointed at Harry insistently. _Ooh, Inu is its name…I think… _Harry pointed at his chest and said, "Harry."

_It's kind of fun to talk with a monster…I wonder if I can learn monster language. That would be really awesome!_

The monster seemed to struggle with his name, saying it very slowly. "Har-rii," Inu drug the syllables of his name out wide, but Harry thought that it got the gist of it pretty well, after all, being a monster probably gave Inu different vocal chords from a real person.

Inu brought out book at that point and opened it to a picture that looked like an apple, "ringo." It repeated the word a few times and had Harry repeat after him. They continued doing this for a while with various pictures in the book. Learning monster language was _fun. _

_Hmm, I bet monsters' have a name for their language. _Harry thought for a few seconds, _I bet it's called Monstish. That sounds brill. Monstish, Monstish, Monstish. _Harry giggle quietly to himself, what a funny language.

When the door was opened again, Harry figured that another monster had come in, but when he turned to look he saw a really big man, with lots of scars. Unless it was a monster that stole a man's face, but maybe not. If there where other people here, then maybe that meant that the monsters weren't going to eat him.

What a pleasing thought.

…And maybe that meant that _he _could stay here, and never go back to the Dursleys. It might take a little time, but Harry thought he could learn to be a very scary monster.

The man strode into the room and immediately drug a third chair to the table. He sat down and stared at Harry full on in the face, "Okay kid, my name is Morino Ibiki, and you are Harry Potter." His spoke a bit strangely, but Harry was too excited to care.

"Whoa, since you can talk, does that mean you're not a monster? Or did you steal someone's face? Where am I? When am I being sent back? Or are you going to eat me? I would really prefer that I wasn't eaten. I'm too bony anyway. I'll probably give you gas." Harry tried his best to look very serious as he said the last part. "I bet your farts will be really smelly after eating me."

Ibiki the maybe-monster stared at him before throwing back his head and roaring with laughter. Inu said something in Monstish to Ibiki and Ibiki replied in Monstish back. Harry was getting kind of impatient to get his questions answered, but he was trying really hard to hold it in; the Dursleys didn't like it when he asked questions, and they especially didn't like it when he pestered them for answers.

Harry almost missed what happened next, since he concentrating so hard on Ibiki's face. Inu's movement caught his eyes just in time, as Inu lifted his face over his head…Wait not his face. Oh, it was a mask! How…disappointing.

Ibiki started to speak again, "no one here is a monster, not in the way you think anyway. No one will eat you." Here, Ibiki paused, snorted, and said something to Inu. "You are currently in Konohagakure, in the Elemental Countries. Which to you is better described as a continent hidden off the eastern coast of Japan."

Harry's eyes lit up with glee, "I've never been to a different country before!" Not even _Dudley _had been to a whole different continent before either, he thought smugly.

"Can you confirm the identities of your guardians? We have them recorded as your maternal aunt and uncle, correct?"

"Yup, I live with Aunt Tuna, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley." Harry paused for a second, "but what's matnal mean?"

Ibiki nodded, "maternal means related to your mother." He paused here to consider his next words. "It has come to the attention of Hokage-sama," here Ibiki held up a hand to stall questions, "Hokage-sama is the leader of Konohagakure." Harry closed his mouth, since his question had been answered. "Now recent documentation has come to light with evidence that you are…"

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**Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoy it**

**MyNomDePlume signing out**

**A.N: There is now a poll on my profile concerning Harry's future as a Shinobi. Please cast your vote:D**


	2. In Which The Author Has A Message

**A.N: (this will be replaced with chapter two when I complete that):**

**Hello everyone, this is mostly a notice for anyone who read the story when I first published it. I have completely finished the prologue/chapter one, it is almost 2x the length it was originally (possibly more actually). So you should go back and reread because it is much longer, and has been edited. If you read the story in the past day, it is still slightly longer (but only about 300 words or so), and you won't see as many changes. I've been changing the story around since I posted it, adding and subtracting, but I'm finally content with it, so there shouldn't be any more edits. (I may have jumped the gun a little in posting it when I did and not waiting...but I was rather excitedXD lol) **

**Hopefully I'll be able to post chapter 2 within the week, and when I do, I'll replace this chapter with that one. **

**Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoy it, and many thanks to everyone who has left a review! I really appreciate it :D :D :D :D :D  
**

**TheNonDePlume signing out**


	3. In Which The Ice King Shows Emotion

**A.N- So, this chapter took longer than I thought it would, but IT'S FINALLY HERE! Yay! I unfortunately had run into a lot of unexpected work the week after I first published it, so I had to put it on hold for a little while. I also had to figure out some of the plot points that I had rushed into the story without figuring out before. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter, and I always appreciate feedback, whether in the form of a review or a pm, it doesn't matter.**

**Also, everyone, thank my beta Green217! She's totally awesome: D**

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**Chapter 2:**

**(One month later)**

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**Academy Grounds:**

Sasuke kept a lookout as he exited the school though the back door. Uchiha's didn't sneak around of course…but they also didn't lower themselves to the objectification of _fan girls._ Leaving this way required him to climb over the academy fence in the back, which really wasn't that difficult anymore. Though he'd broken his arm the first time he did it.

Reaching the top of the fence, he swung his leg over and proceeded to jump off the side, landing in a crouch. He casually stood up and brushed his hands off, before he strolled though the streets of Konoha towards the market. It was located in a space next the wall surrounding Konoha on the outside of the shopping district. Unfortunately, at this time of day, there were far to many people around in the streets to run. _Uchiha never hurried._

He had overheard two old women discussing the market this morning. Apparently the Ameera tomatoes at the Fujikawa stand were some of the best all season. Of course he also needed a few other things, but priorities where important. Hopefully he wouldn't run into any classmates there. Though considering it was a beautiful September day, Sasuke didn't hold out much hope. Many people would want to do their shopping on a day like today.

When he finally reached the open-air market, his guess proved correct, people where _everywhere_. The market hawkers were calling out their wares, it was as if the whole village had come out to shop.

Sasuke sneered in displeasure.

Taking a deep breath, he skirted around the crowds, heading in the direction the Fujikawa stand always sat. Just as he had almost reached the stand, a loud altercation blocked his path.

"Get lost!"

"You don't deserve to be here!"

A group of three civilian villagers had surrounded a small…orange…child. Sasuke glared, unimpressed. _What a waste of time._

"You're blocking my way."

All three civilians turned their heads in his direction. The woman in the middle was the first to react, "I'm so sorry Uchiha-san, we were just removing some _trash _from the area." She grabbed the orange blob's arm. "We'll be right out of your way."

She tried to smile pleasantly at him, but the intensity of his glare seemed to ruffle her a bit. "I don't care. Move." He ordered the woman.

All three civilians rushed to get out of his way, "of course Uchiha-san. Right away Uchiha-san." They sent one last glance in his direction before blending in with the crowds. Sasuke stared at the orange blob, "didn't you hear me? Move."

This seemed to incite the orange blob, for it raised a fist in Sasuke's direction. "Hey Teme! That's no reason to be such an asshole! All I was going to do was _thank _you for making them leave me alone. No need to be such a jerk."

"Hn," Sasuke decided his best choice was to simply ignore the orange idiot (how could he be anything other than an idiot wearing that jumpsuit). As he walked away he heard the idiot shouting in his direction things that sounded like, "Don't Ignore!...Teme!… Hey, you listen…!"

Sasuke kept on walking and gave him the attention he deserved. That is to say…none.

Three hours later, just as Sasuke had put away all of the groceries and was sitting down to bite into the first of his new tomatoes, there was a knock on the door. He considered ignoring it, but then the knocker started pounding on the door. Sasuke felt his patience fray as he grumpily set down the tomato and headed towards the front door.

"What." He growled as he opened the door. An Anbu stood on his porch.

"Hokage-Sama requires your presence in one hours time, exactly." Without giving Sasuke any time to answer, the Anbu disappeared.

Seething, Sasuke slammed the door shut in front of him. _Great,_ just_ great! I have shit to do, _Hokage-sama _does this on purpose! _

When Sasuke finally reached the Hokage tower an hour later, his temper hadn't cooled down at all. He hated visiting the Hokage, he was always smiling, and seeing him reminded Sasuke of _that night. _Plus, Father had always disliked the Sandaime, considering him weak.

When he finally reached the floor with the Hokage's office, the secretary ushered him through immediately. She practically pushed him through the door to the Hokage's office.

"Ahh, Sasuke-kun, come in! Take a seat," the Hokage gestured to the chair before his desk, "this will take a while." After settling in the chair, Sasuke took the time to look around the room. There were two Anbu and one jonin present that he could see, all of them were staring at him. However, he knew that there were definitely more hidden Anbu surrounding the office.

Sasuke bowed respectfully, "Sandaime-sama," before taking a seat on the backless green chair in front of the Hokage's desk.

"So, Sasuke-kun, Iruka-sensei and your other academy instructors inform me that you are top of the class in all areas this year." The Hokage beckoned his assistant into the office with a tray of steaming tea. "You should be proud of how well you are doing, I know your parents would be proud of you." After the tea had been placed on the desk he started to pour it into two cups. Handing one to Sasuke and leaning back in his chair with his hands wrapped around the other teacup, sipping carefully in silence.

Sasuke accepted the tea and kept his head down. The Hokage called him to his office to check up on him every few months; the conversations were always the same.

The Sandaime sighed before placing his cup back on the desk. "Unfortunately, today I have more to discuss with you than your classes." His sharp eyes caught Sasuke's across the desk. "A situation has arisen that you need to be informed of." He raised a hand to stall Sasuke from speaking, "I will ask that you hold any questions for now, after I am done explaining you can ask any questions that you still have."

Sasuke scowled but didn't interrupt.

The Hokage continued, "three years ago documentation came to light which caused the immediate order of an S-ranked mission outside of the elemental countries. As you know, there are completely different lands separated from the elemental countries, lands where they have never heard of Shinobi."

Sandaime-sama paused before continuing. "The Outer Lands speak different languages, eat different foods, have different laws, and use different weapons. We do not cross the boundaries between lands lightly, but in this case there was a very good reason."

"The information that forced our hand was discovered in the Uchiha compound." The Sandaime spoke heavily, his tone didn't allow for any interruptions, and he spoke over Sasuke's startled surprise. "Documentation indicated that 25 years ago Uchiha Jirou was adopted out of the clan by a wealthy, noble couple living in the outer lands. I, of course, sent a group of our most elite ANBU to verify the matter."

Sasuke was staring at the Hokage in shock, unblinking. His nails drew blood where they bit into him hands. His breathing was fast and uncontrolled.

_Could…it…be…?_

"The mission parameters were originally an information gathering mission, but ANBU Captain Inu made the judgment call to change the mission according to the situation they discovered." The Hokage paused, "Uchiha Jirou is dead, but before his death he had a son."

The blood was rushing through Sasuke's ears, so loudly that he could barely hear the Hokage. "Due to the living situation that the boy, Harry, was in, Captain Inu decided the best course of action was to retrieve him and return him to Konoha."

At that point Sasuke collapsed in a dead faint.

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**ANBU Headquarters:**

Ibiki contemplatively watched the boy sleeping.

Today was the day, and he didn't know how he felt about it. In three hours, Harry and Sasuke Uchiha would meet for the first time.

Ibiki had never been fond of the Uchiha clan, finding them arrogant and possessive. Even before their fall, he had noticed that the whole clan seemed to have a predisposition towards emotional instability. Of course, only the T &amp; I department had been aware of that, as clan politics had ensured that the mental evaluations of any Uchiha was falsified.

For F***s sake! He had met Uchiha genin more emotionally repressed than veteran ANBU operatives!

Just look at Itachi Uchiha. Ibiki himself had been the one to complete his mental examination, and the kid had been borderline delusional and narcissistic. Itachi had been so assured of his own intellect that he didn't believe anyone else could succeed at a problem that he failed. He practically believed himself smarter than the Hokage. Oh, Ibiki warned the Sandaime, but of course Ibiki must have been mistaken, Itachi-kun was the paradigm of emotionally stability… just like Hatake Kakashi.

That was the status quo until Itachi had taken matters into his own hands and slaughtered his entire clan, but even Ibiki, cold-hearted torture expert that he was, would never have suggested that solution to the Uchiha problem.

As he watched, Harry rolled over in his sleep, kicking a leg out from under the thin blanket.

The most emotionally healthy Uchiha that Ibiki had ever encountered lay sleeping peacefully on the creaky camp bed on the other side of the one-way mirror, and the kid had been physically and mentally _abused_. Based on the reports from the ANBU of the kid's treatment and his own past experiences with Uchiha, he had expected the boy to be practically frothing at the mouth.

Which Harry wasn't… at all. At bit emotionally repressed, yes, and as they had discovered a week ago, in possession of a very impressive and uncontrolled temper, but compared to the rest of the Uchiha he had tested in his life, remarkably stable.

Harry had only lost his temper after being informed of the situation, and told that he'd have to wait another week to meet his cousin. Ibiki couldn't tell if the thought of another relative scared the bejeezus out of the kid, or was a dream come true. Probably both.

In the past month Ibiki had been assigned to working very closely with Harry, attempting to teach the boy Japanese. He had picked the language up quickly enough, though he was still shaky on a lot of the grammar. Ibiki was confident Harry knew enough to communicate. However, he worried about how Harry would get on with his cousin. Sasuke Uchiha was not nearly as stable as Harry…and quite possibly, capable of unintentionally irreversibly damaging Harry's mental health.

But the Hokage wished for the boys to live together, and so live together they would, regardless of Ibiki's professional opinion on the matter.

Beyond the widow Harry whimpered quietly in his sleep, starting to thrash his arms and legs against the sheet tangled around them. Ibiki continued to observe as Harry began thrashing harder, his whimpers turning into short cries. Soon he would wake himself up, or fall deeper into sleep.

Nightmares were hardly reasons for coddling among shinobi, and as an Uchiha there was no other path the child would be allowed to take. Blood, pain, and sacrifice were practically synonymous with that clan's name.

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**Headed towards Yamanaka Flowers, from the Academy:**

Inoichi walked him daughter Ino back from school. She chattered on about her school day, though there was an alarming percentage of the conversation dedicated to Sasuke Uchiha. He was beginning to doubt his wife's reassurances that this obsession was just a _phase_.

Kami-sama, he prayed it wasn't permanent.

It was especially worrisome, because Inoichi knew that this kind of behavior could disturb Harry a lot, once he started to stay at the flower shop while Sasuke was in school. He would have to sit down and have a chat with her about it, the sooner the better.

They were trying to make the whole ordeal of getting Harry settled, as easy on the two boys as possible. Knowing what he did about Sasuke, Inoichi knew it would be hard enough to convince the boy that he needed any help taking care of the child, let alone leaving his cousin unsupervised in a fan girl's house. He doubted that it would make any difference to Sasuke that Ino wouldn't be around Harry, since she would be in school as well.

The Uchiha were a very possessive lot, and Sasuke showed that particular clan trait to an extreme degree. It probably had something to do with being the only Uchiha left, but that didn't make it any less worrying a characteristic.

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**Harry's Room, ANBU headquarters:**

Harry was very excited…like so excited he could hardly contain himself. Monkey kept telling him to stop fidgeting, but Mr. Ibiki had told him that he could _finally _meet his cousin Sasuke today! He figured Sasuke must be super brilliant because they had shown Harry a picture, and he hadn't looked anything like Dudley, and he was Harry's family, _not _the Dursley's family. He kind of looked like Harry even! With messy black hair and really pale skin, it was like having a brother or something. A really old brother, 'cause Sasuke was one of the Really Big Boys.

Right now Monkey-san was helping him get dressed. Apparently everyone here was named after an animal, though it was in Japanese. Monkey-san had picked out a set of blue pants and a big black shirt today. It had taken a bit to get used to the weird clothes with all the wrapping parts and no buttons or zippers, and especially the shoes—_who doesn't wear sneakers?!—_but Harry kind of liked them now. He looked pretty brill in them anyway, and they actually fit.

"What that?" Harry pointed to the back of the shirt; it had a weird symbol thing on it. Monkey lifted Harry's arms up and slid the shirt over his head. "What is that? Not what that."

Harry dutifully corrected himself as Monkey-san tied all of the ties on his shirt together, "What _is _that?"

"That is the clan symbol of the Uchiha. Since you will be living in public with your cousin from now on, it is only proper that you wear your proper clan symbol."

"Oh," Harry took some time to piece all of that together. While he was pretty good at understanding Japanese after a month now, it was still much harder than English. But listening was so much easier than speaking; all of the funny sounds were really hard to make, and every time he spoke he cringed because it just wouldn't come out the way he expected it to.

He managed to get the gist of it idea though, and knew that it was something everyone in his new family wore, and so he was supposed to wear it too. Harry tried to twist around to see the symbol more closely as Monkey lifted him onto his bed and began strapping the sandals to his feet.

"Almost done you little imp, just a...few more-Ah! Done" Monkey shooed Harry off the bed and out the door of the small grey room, into the main hallway of the ANBU headquarters.

"Now," Monkey crouched down, "remember everything that I told you, and when you see the Hokage, you must bow to him. Just like I taught you."

Lurching forward, Harry grabbed Monkey around the middle, "I miss you so much, Monkey-san. I don't want you go! Why not Monkey-san comes with Harry?" Harry sniffled into Monkey's shoulder, trying to hold back the tears because he was a Big Boy, and Big Boys don't cry.

"Hey now," Monkey wrapped his arms around Harry, "I'll see you again soon okay? And in the meantime you are going to be living with your cousin." He dragged Harry's face out of his shoulder, and started to wipe the tears away with his sleeve. "Everything will be fine, see? You're already looking better." Monkey bopped him lightly on the nose, "all you need is a smile."

Harry giggled, clutching his nose protectively.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Okay, time to run then." Monkey swung Harry on top of his back, hooking Harry's arms around his shoulders, and took off running down the hall. Harry whooped in glee.

Once Monkey was outside of the ANBU building, he took to the rooftops, jumping extra high between buildings to the absolute glee of his passenger.

"Wheeeeee!" Harry gripped on with his legs and threw his hands into the air. It took ten minutes to get to the red Hokage tower, and Harry enjoyed every second of it. _Cousin Sasuke is a Really Big Boy…maybe _he _can jump between buildings too! Maybe he would _teach _me…and then I would be a Really Big Boy too!_

What a thought.

Before long, Monkey set Harry down just outside of the Hokage's office and sharply rapped on the door. At the behest of the Sandaime, he opened the door and gently nudged Harry inside. Harry took in the large wooden office with wide eyes. When Monkey nudged him to the center of the floor, Harry remembered to bow, "Hokage-Sama," just as Monkey had taught him.

Harry peeked up through his bangs at the man, but when he saw the Hokage observing him, he quickly looked down again.

"Harry-chan, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." The Sandaime leaned forwards on the desk. "I am very pleased to formally welcome you to Konoha, I know that you will learn to love it very soon." He turned in his seat slightly to the right to look at two people in the corner, one was another ANBU and the second was a child. Harry followed his gaze. "Sasuke-kun as well, is very pleased to have another Uchiha in Konoha, right Sasuke-kun?"

Harry gasped as soon as he saw the other boy, not having noticed him when he came in. Likewise, Sasuke seemed to be devouring Harry with his stare. The intensity was a bit intimidating for Harry, but he tried be brave and ignore it.

They really did look similar! Harry smiled widely, just like Dudley and Uncle Vernon looked the same, big, fat, and blonde.

Sasuke had the same color hair as Harry, though it was a bit neater, and longer. His eyes were black, but they were both super pale. Harry thought they might even have the same noses.

Before he realized what he was doing, Harry was running across the room, stopping just in time to not crash into Sasuke.

Holding out his hand, he said "Hi, I Harry! I very, very, very, very, very—lots of verys—happy to meet you!"

Sasuke stared Harry down for over a minute, assessing the situation. All of the adults in the room were tense, knowing that the Last Uchiha—well, not the Last Uchiha any longer—did not deal well with people.

After a tense period of waiting, where Harry fidgeted, Sasuke responded. "Sasuke. Pleased to meet you as well."

Sasuke finally took the hand offered him, and did something no one in the room expected.

He pulled his cousin into a hug.

**A special thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, or followed my story! I love you all! Happy Memorial Day (and my birthday!).**


	4. In Which Sasuke Is Very Frustrated

**Chapter 3:**

* * *

_I'll protect you. Promise. No one will ever hurt you._

* * *

Sasuke watched _his_ _cousin _clumsily eat his yakisoba noodles across the table from him in Fuji Noodle House. It was a quaint place, and the noodles tended to be overdone, but it was removed from the main thoroughfare and since lunch hour had passed, it was completely deserted. Only two other patrons were seated in the establishment, and they seemed to be too wrapped up in each other, literally, to pay any attention to Harry and Sasuke. Unfortunately, Sasuke was seated with a full view of the amorous couple, but he considered that a negligible sacrifice to bear in order to prevent Harry from sitting within view of the _spectacle_.

He had little to say to his younger cousin right now, though he was filing away all of his cousin's inadequate manners and habits for later correction, content to just watch another member of his clan, _his family, _exist in front of him.

His cousin was a nervous child, probably from displacement, though courageous enough to make the first move in the initial introduction. Sasuke fought to keep a blush off his face when he thought about his embarrassing action during the introduction, and others had even witnessed his moment of weakness. Completely unacceptable! He would make sure his uncontrolled emotions never prompted such a repulsive action again.

Finding out that the Hokage had made preparations for Harry's care during the day without consulting him, made Sasuke seethe. No other clan should have such unlimited access to an _Uchiha_ child. What if they tried to plant _ideas _in Harry's head? Sasuke wouldn't be around to protect Harry from contamination from the Yamanaka's sheer _flowery-ness! _

Sasuke shuddered.

He refused to believe any differently about that clan, no matter what Hokage-sama said. After all, they permitted one of their clan members to be a _fan girl. _Even the pathetic Hyuuga clan didn't allow their heiress to stoop to such awful behavior. Which automatically disqualified the Yamanakas from Sasuke's list of 'trustworthy people to look after Harry.'

"Thank you for lunch Sasuke! Is very good." Harry nervously peeked across the table.

"Hn." Sasuke made another mental note to buy Harry a new pair of glasses. Harry's were _hideous. _

There was a pause before Sasuke continued, "I am glad you enjoyed it." He found making idle conversation a rather trying task, but was putting in the effort to put his cousin more at ease.

Harry nodded enthusiastically, "very good. I like _yakisoba _a lot," he patted his belly. "What your favorite food? I love treacle tart! I only had treacle tart one time, but it so good!"

Harry continued to chatter with stilted input from Sasuke until Sasuke signaled to the waiter and paid for the meal.

On the way out of the restaurant, Sasuke casually grabbed Harry's hand. He didn't want Harry to wander away, that would be irresponsible, and Sasuke was _not_ going to be irresponsible with his cousin.

Soon, he would have to locate the books on stages of childhood development to more accurately assess Harry's level of ability for his age group. He also contemplated renaming the child, after all what kind of atrocious and undignified name was _Harry_?

Sasuke was careful to lead Harry through the back roads while returning to the clan compound. He wanted to keep from exposing Harry to the inferior masses for as long as possible, as he would gain nothing from that exposure. Still, Harry seemed fascinated with the wider Konoha. A little too excited for Sasuke's tastes really…

"Wow, look at ninja! He so fast! Can you jump on roofs like that Sasuke? Will you teach me? Ninja are like superheroes! They have superpowers, which so cool! I once read part of a comic about man who fly. Can ninja fly? Flying sound so fun!"

When they got within sight of the eastern compound entrance, Harry quieted down. He possibly recognized the _Uchiwa_ symbol over the gates.

Just outside of the East Gate, Sasuke paused, "this is the Uchiha compound. Every member of the Uchiha clan once lived within it…" Sasuke looked into Harry's eyes, "we are the only ones left who hold the honor of living here now."

Harry looked slightly pale, "oh…that's sad."

Sasuke resisted the urge to continue this dangerously emotional conversation, and started forwards again, jerking Harry forward in his haste. The winding roads of the compound seemed longer than usual. Walking along them, it was hard not to get lost in thought. Harry was completely silent; his wide green eyes flickered around them in slight confusion, drinking in the sight of the traditional Japanese architecture with themes of red and white decorating everything. It was a silent ghost town.

"Umm…Sasuke?" Harry's voice came out very cautiously.

"Hn?" Sasuke grunted.

"If uh…if no one live here no more, ah, why are there people with… erm…the _uchiwa _symbol…umm…here?"

_What?_

Sasuke was staring at his cousin with a painfully blank face.

Harry leaned in close, "they look like they hurt bad. We get help?"

"What." Sasuke's question came out blankly like a statement. "What." Frozen in disbelief—this was not a funny joke—Sasuke absently noted that his cousin was staring at the porch of a house on their left. Staring at _nothing_, and yet it looked as if Harry was watching _something, _since his eyes were so intensely focused.

Harry huffed, "see," he pointed at the porch where he was staring, "there two people there. They are weird colors though." Harry squinted, "they must be old, 'cause they have white hair." He nodded decisively to himself, "but we help them, right? They don't look good. I think they might be sick, very pale."

In Sasuke's stunned disbelief, Harry managed to pull his hand free and walk towards the porch. "Hi, I Harry. You need help?"

_Dear god help me, my cousin is _fucking hallucinating_. _

He took a shuddering breath. That thought managed to free his limbs from their shocked paralysis. "Harry. Stop."

Harry looked back with wide eyes, "but cousin Fukurou say she so happy to speak with me!" Harry turned his head back in the direction of the porch for a second, before turning around.

"Oh… she also say, you not see her?" Harry gulped, paling dramatically. "She…a ghost?"

Sasuke grabbed Harry's hand and marched them immediately back to the Hokage tower. Somehow this was that old man's fault, Sasuke just knew it. _This _must be the reason that they had kept Harry from him for a month; they had done something to him.

…_Those Fuckers. _

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen had heard many things during his time as Hokage…but this was new.

"Sasuke-kun, I assure you that no one did anything untoward with your cousin during his time in ANBU's care."

Sasuke stared into his eyes flatly. "_My cousin _is not _crazy_."

Harry had been left to wait outside the Hokage's office since Sasuke didn't intend for him to hear this conversation.

Hiruzen rubbed his temples. This was going to be a long day. "I was not attempting to imply that he was. Sometimes children will have friends who are…not really there. It is a rather common phenomenon in young civilian children. Up until now, Harry has lived the life of a civilian child, this is most likely a response to Harry's stress over his change in living situation."

Hiruzen chuckled and pat Sasuke on the head, "Don't worry Sasuke-kun, Harry is merely going through a phase."

* * *

"Itachi-kun, what's this I hear about one of our Potter… relatives… being brought to Konoha?"

"I have yet to fully investigate the issue."

"Hmm, well. Leave me. I have to account for this change in my plans. I will call upon you soon with further orders. Be ready."

"As you wish… Madara-sama."

* * *

Harry moodily refused to look around his new room. It was _awesome_, with its big soft bed and book lined walls, but it also contained two other features that Harry was rather upset about.

"Boy, listen to me! I am the Head of the Uchiha, and I know you can hear me. Do not ignore me!"

In other words… Harry was _not happy right now._

Cousin Sasuke wasn't as nice as he first thought, just like this room. At first glance the room was pretty and perfect, but then you encountered the other occupants, and suddenly the room was _unbearable_.

One of the not-real people kept demanding Harry listen to him really loudly. The other, a much nicer not-real person named Mikoto, just watched from the corner for the most part. The only time she spoke was to introduce herself and ask his name. Harry refused to talk to them.

Ever since he saw the first not-person in the afternoon and told Sasuke about it, his cousin had been really different. He didn't listen to Harry about what the not people said, and he kept telling Harry that _they're not real! You're imagining them. _

"My name is Harry Potter! Now _SHUT UP_! I don't have to listen to you!" Harry shrieked and dove for his pillows before he began sobbing. It had been a truly terrible day.

Harry was too distracted to notice the sudden stillness of the ghosts at his name. He shoved his face into his pillow and sobbed himself to sleep that night. Neither of the ghosts made another peep, but his sleep was restless, and his dreams where haunted.


End file.
